Refrigeration



March 31, 1942. u. A. WHITAKER REFRIGERATION 2 SheetsSheet 1 Filed Sept. 21, 1939 B r lflnw \h H v W WK llncas A. Whitaker ATTORNEY March 31, 1942, u W I R 2,278,229

' REFRIGERATION Filed Sept. 21; 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 i-li;

. IN VENTO R llne'as A. Whitaker ATTORNEY Patented Mar 31, 1942" I anFmGEnA'rron I Uncas A. Whitaker, New York, N. Y., assignor to The Hoover Company, North Canton, Ohio Application September 21, i939, Serial No. 295,845

16 Claims.

water over the grid assembly and attached cubes for releasing the ice from the grid assembly.

vide a mechanism for releasing an ice tray from an evaporator shelf or ice from the tray or both which is operated by opening the cabinet door This necessitates the handling of the cold tray I These former devices have not been entirely satisfactory since they are complicated in structure, costly to manufacture, require considerable force in their operation, and get out of order easily. a

It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide a mechanism for releasing an ice tray from the evaporator shelf and ice from the tray which eliminates the disadvantages of prior devices and methods.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a release mechanism which will operate to release an ice tray from the evaporator shelf which may be actuated from a remote point.

It is another object of this invention to provide a mechanism for releasing an ice tray from an evaporator shelf and also releasing cubes from the tray which may be actuated from a remote point,

It is another object of this invention to provide a mechanism for. releasing an ice tray from an evaporator shelf which may be actuated from a point outside the refrigerator cabinet.

It is another object of this invention to provide a mechanism for releasing an ice tray from an evaporator shelf and also ice from the tray which may be actuated from a point outside the refrigerator cabinet.

in which thev operating mechanism has means forrendering it ineffective at times when ice is not needed. 7

It is another object of this invention to provide a mechanism for releasing an ice tray from an evaporator shelf or ice from the tray .or both in which a manually operated lever is provided accessible from a point outside the refrigerator cabinet with power transmitting means for transmitting movement to the tray releasing mechanism and also to the mechanism for releasing ice from the tray.

It is another object of this invention to provide means for removing an ice tray from the evaporator shelf and ice from the tray in which it is unnecessary to handle the cold tray nor to handle a grid assembly and attached cubes.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator cabinet with the mechanism of the invention associated therewith.

Figure 2'is a'perspective view of a refrigerator cabinet showing a second embodiment of the invention associated therewith.

Figure 3 is aperspective view of a refrigerator cabinet with a third embodiment of the invention associated therewith.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the ice tray according to the invention showing the mechanism for releasing the tray from the evaporator shelf and ice from the tray, and

Figures 5 and 6 are detail views of portions of the .ice tray.

Referring to the drawings, numeral I0 represents the refrigerator cabinet having a door II and a freezing compartment I2. The freezing compartment I2 has a plurality of shelf portions l3 with ice trays l4 positioned thereon. In Figure 1 two sets of ice trays are shown while in Figures 2 and 3 only one is shown,'but it is to be understood that the modifications. of Figures 2 and 3 can also be'modified to provide for the releasing of a plurality of trays.

Referring to Figure 4, the ice tray of the invention comprises side walls l5, end walls I6, and bottom l1. Secured to and bulged upwardly from the bottom I1 is a partition 3 which forms a sealed compartment in the bot- It is another object of this invention to protom of the tray. The interior of the compartment is lined with rubber membranes l3 and 20. Positioned in the tray above the partition [8 is a grid assembly comprising a longitudinal grid member 2| and lateral grid members 22 which divide the interior of the tray into a plurality of compartments.

Bonded to the underside of the upper rubber membrane 28 are a plurality of cup-shaped members 23 positioned immediately below openings 24 in the partition l8 in each of, the compartments. The cup-shaped members 23 are slightly smaller than the openings 24 and both the cupshaped members and openings progressively increase in size for each of the compartments.

,An opening 25 is provided in the bottom l1 of the tray near one end thereof and this opening 25 is of larger diameter than the largest opening 24 in the partition l8. Immediately above the opening 25 and bonded to the lower membrane I8 is a cup-shaped member 28 slightly smaller in diameter than the opening 25.

As shown in the drawings, a cylinder 21 is positioned in the front of the tray having an opening in one end thereof through which slides a piston rod 28. Secured to the inner end of the piston rod 28 is a piston 29 which is normally held in its outermost position by a spring 38. The interior chamber of the cylinder 21 communicates with the interior of the sealed chamber formed by the partition l8 and bottom l1, by a passageway 3|. larged portion 32 on the outer end thereof. The interior of the cylinder- 21, the passageway 3| and the chamber beneath the partition I8 are filled with a low freezing point liquid which remains fluid at a temperature below that of freezing water. The liquid may be brine or any other low freezing point liquid.

Referring to the embodiment of the invention shown in Figure 1, a shaft 33 is rotatably'mounted on the interior of the freezing compartment. Shaft 33 is provided with a plurality of cams 34 arranged in staggered relation on the shaft 33 to cooperate with the enlarged portions 32 on the piston rods 28. The shaft 33 is also.provided with a lever 35 extending through an opening in the freezing compartment l2.

Hinged to the exterior of the cabinet III, as shown at 36, and extending through a slot in the joint between the cabinet door I l and the cabinet I0, is a member 31 which has a Bowden wire 38 attached to one side thereof. The Bowden wire and its housing 38 is strung around the interior of the cabinet to a point adjacent the lever 35. to which the other end of the Bowden wire 35 is secured. The housing 39 for the Bowden wire is secured to the interior of the cabinet by suitable brackets 40.

,desired to obtain ice, the pointer 44 is turned to the on" position so that the end portion 43 of the member 4| will overlie the edge of the member 31. The door I is then opened which will cause the member 31 to move with the door II. This will pull the Bowden wire 38 through its housing 33 and rotate the shaft 33.

The bottom cam 34 will then contact with the enlarged portion 32 of the piston rod 28 of the bottom tray and cause the piston 28 to move inwardly in the cylinder 21. This will cause the fluid in the cylinder 21 to be forced through the opening 3| into the compartment formed by the partition l8 and the bottom H of the tray.

Since the cup member 25 is larger than any of the cup members 23, a greater force will be exerted on it by the incoming liquid and it will be forced downwardly as shown in dotted line position of Figure and thus raise the lower tray l4 from the evaporator shelf I3. As the fluid continues to flow into the compartment in the bottom of t tray. e flanges on the cup 28 will contact with the edges of the opening and prevent further movement of the cup member 28.

As more fluid is forced into the compartment in the bottom of the tray, it will act upon the The piston rod- 28 has an enlargest cup member 23 in a similar fashion, as shown in dotted lines of Figure 5, and break the bond between one ice cube and its compartment.

The fluid will then act upon each succeeding cup member 23 from the largest to the smallest to release cubes from each of the compartments in succession.

As the shaft 33 continues to rotate, the upper cam member 34' will come in contact with the enlarged portion 32 of the upper tray and release the upper tray from the evaporator shelf and the cubes from the tray in a similar fashion.

When the door is closed, the shaft 33 will be moved to its original position and the spring 30 will move the piston 29 to its original position Rotatably mounted in an opening in the cabber 4| is positioned over'the edge of the member 31-so that the member 31 will move with the cabinet door when the door is opened. When the pointer 44 is 'in the dotted line position, the end portion 43 of the member 4| will be free of the member 31 so that the'member 31 will remain stationary when the door II is opened.

In operation the trays l4 are filled with water which will cause theliquid in the compartment in the bottom of the tray to move back into. the cylinder 21 so that the cup members 23 and 28 will move back to their full line position as shown in Figure 5.

Asv can be seen, the device in Figure 1 provides means whereby ice trays may be easily removed from the evaporator shelf in succession and in which cubes may be removed from the individual trays in succession andin which it for returning the pedal 45 to its'original position when pressure thereon is released.

In'operation the pedal 45 is pressed downwardly which moves the Bowden wire 48 in its housing 41 so as to rotate the shaft 33 and release-the tray l4 and cubes from the tray in the manner described in connection with the embodiment of Figure 1. When pressure on the foot pedal 45 is released a spring 49 returns it to its original position which will move the shaft 33 to its original position.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 3 a pedal 50 is pivotally mounted in the bottom part of the cabinet. The inner end of the pedal 50 has anxpfiset portion which operates on a piston rod 52 of a piston 53 which reciprocates in a cylinder 54 suitably secured to the cabinet. A spring 55 is provided surrounding the piston rod 52 to move the pedal to its original position when pressure thereon is released. The cylinder 54 communicates by means of a tube 56 with a Sylphon motor 51 the inner end of which is rigidly secured to the walls of the freezing compartment H2. The outer end of the Sylphcn motor 51 contacts the enlarged portion 32 of the piston rod 28. The cylinder 54, tube 55 and Sylphon motor 51 are filled with any suitable liquid.

In operation when it is desired to obtain ice, the pedal 50 is pressed downwardly which raises the piston 53 in the cylinder 54 forcing liquid into the'bellows motor 51 which will force the piston- 29 inwardly in the cylinder 21 to release the tray M from the evaporator shelf I3 and icecubes from the tray in the manner described in connection with the embodiment of Figure 1. When pressure on the pedal 50 is released the spring 55 will move the pedal 50 to its normal position and the natural resiliency of the Sylphon motor will force the fluid back into the cylinder 54 and thus move the piston 53 to its original position.

From the foregoing it can be seen that this invention provides a simple and easy mechanism whereby ice-trays may be removed from the evaporator shelves and ice from the trays which is operable from the exterior of the cabinet in which only a slight application of 'force is necessary and in which the operating mechanism is permanently associated with the cabinet.

While I have shown but three embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that these embodiments are to be taken as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense. I do not wish to be limited to the specific structure shown but to include all equivalent variations thereof except as limited by the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. In comb nation with a refrigerator cabinet having a freezing compartment with a supporting shelf, an ice tray positioned on said shelf, means carried by said'tray for raising said tray from said shelf manually operable means on the exterior of said cabinet and hydraulic means for transmitting movement from said manually op-.

erable means to said tray-raising means.

2. In combination with a refrigerator cabinet having a freezing compartment with a supporting shelf and a food storage compartment, an access door for said food storage compartment movably mounted on said cabinet, an ice tray positioned on said shelf and means carried by said tray and operable by movement of said door for raising the tray from said shelf.

3. In combination with a refrigerator cabinet having a freezing compartment with a supporting shelf, an ice tray positioned on said shelf and foot operated means having its actuating member on the exterior of said cabinet, said foot operated means being so constructed and arranged as to raise said tray from said-shelf.

4. In combination witha refrigerator cabinet having a freezing compartment with a supporting shelf, an ice tray positioned on said shelf, said tray having means associated therewith for raising said tray from said shelf foot actuatable means on the exterior of said cabinet and power-transmitting means for transmitting movement from said foot actuatable means to said tray-raising means.

' 5.-In combination with a refrigerator cabinet having a freezing compartment with a plurality of supporting shelves, ice trays positioned on said shelves and manually operable means having its actuating member positioned on the exterior of said cabinet for raising said trays from said shelves, said means being so constructed .and arranged as to raise said trays in sequence.

. 6. In combination with a refrigerator cabinet having a freezing compartment with a supporting shelf, an ice tray positioned on said shelf, force multiplying means carried by said tray for breaking the bond between the tray and said shelf and for releasing ice from said tray, said means being so constructed and arranged as to first release the bond between said tray and said shelf and then release ice from said tray, and means including manually operable means on the exterior of said cabinet for operating said tray and ice-releasing'means.

7. In combination with a refrigerator cabinet having a freezing compartment with a supporting shelf, an ice tray positioned on said shelf, said tray having means associated therewith for releasing said tray from said shelf and releasing ice from saidtray, said means comprising hydraulic means, means accessible from the exterior of said cabinet for operating said hydraulic means and hydraulic transmitting means for transmitting movement from said last-mentioned means to said tray and ice-releasing means.

8. In combination with a refrigerator cabinet having a freezing compartment with a supporting shelf, an ice tray positioned on said shelf, said tray having means associated therewith for releasing the bond between said tray and said shelf, manually operable means on the exterior of said cabinet, a hydraulic motor operated by said manually operable means, a second hydraulic motor positioned to operate said tray-releasing means and means for transmitting power from said first hydraulic motor to the second hydraulic motor.

9. In combination with a refrigerator cabinet having a freezing compartment with a sup-porting shelf, an ice tray positioned on said shelf, means carried by said tray for releasing said tray from said shelf, operating means accessible from the exterior of said cabinet and power-transmitting means for transmitting movement from said operating means to, said tray-releasing means, said operating means including releasable means for rendering said power-transmitting means ineffective.

10. In combination with a refrigerator cabinet having a freezing compartment witha supporting shelf, an access door movably mounted on said cabinet, an ice tray positioned on said shelf, means carried by said tray for releasing said tray from said shelf, means operated by movement of said door and means for transmitting movement from said door operated means to said trayreleasing means; said door operated means having means associated therewith for rendering said movement transmitting means ineffective and means on said door for indicating whether the movement transmitting means is effective or ineffective.

11. In combination, a refrigerator cabinet, an evaporator therein, said evaporator having a supporting shelf, an ice tray supported on said 'shelf, force multiplying means carried by said tray for raising said tray from said shelf, movable means on the exterior of said cabinet and means for transmitting movement from said movable means to said force multiplying means.

12. In' combination, a refrigerator cabinet, an evaporator therein, said evaporator having a supporting shelf, an ice tray supported on said shelf, force multiplying means carried by said tray for releasing ice from said tray and raising said tray from said shelf, movable-means on the exterior of said cabinet and means for transmitting movement from said movable means to said force multiplying means.

13. In combination, a refrigerator cabinet having a front access opening, a closure for said opening, an evaporator in said cabinet, said evaporator having a supporting shelf, an ice tray supported on said shelf, and mechanism cooperating with means on said tray for raising said tray from said shelf, said mechanism including movable means on the exterior of said cabinet and power-transmitting means for transmitting motion from said movable means to the means on said ice tray.

14. In combination, a refrigerator cabinet, an evaporator therein, said evaporator having-a supporting shelf, an ice tray having a plurality of cube compartments supported on said shelf, force multiplying means carried by said tray for releasing ice from said compartments in succession and for raising said tray from said shelf, movable means on the exterior'of said cabinet and means for transmitting movement from said movable means to said force multiplying means.

15. In combination, a refrigerator cabinet, an evaporator therein, said evaporator having a supporting shelf, an ice tray supported on said shelf, force multiplying means carried by said tray for breaking the bond between said tray and said shelf, manually operable means on the exterior of said cabinet and power-transmitting means for transmitting movement from said manually operable means to said bond breaking means, said power-transmitting means being so constructed that said tray can be removed from said shelf.

16. In combination, a refrigerator cabinet, an evaporator therein, said evaporator having a supporting shelf, an ice tray supported on said shelf, force multiplying means carried by said tray for releasing ice from said tray, movable means on the exterior of said cabinet and means for transmitting movement from said movable means to said force multiplying means.

UNCAS A. WHITAKER. 

